A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “We received a call from a member of the public claiming to have seen a wallaby or kangaroo on the Bridgnorth Road, Wombourne, at around 9.20pm last night.

“Unfortunately, if there is a kangaroo on the loose, it’s got the jump on us!

“We’ve alerted local animal keepers in case there are any missing animals and will hop to it if we get any further reports.”

There are various press reports of ‘escaped beast’ and ‘kangaroo on the loose’. We’d just like to take a minute to clarify she’s a small, friendly, grass-eating wallabyWild Zoological Park

A spokesman for Wild Zoological Park said: “As some of you may have seen, Holly, one of our wallabies has managed to leave our perimeter fence on Tuesday.

“Keepers have been tracking her and, of the various sightings we have of Holly, she’s very content eating grass and sunbathing.

“She’s a very friendly animal and should approach our keepers when we manage to catch up with her.

“If anybody does spot her we would appreciate it if you leave her alone and contact us.”

He added: “There are various press reports of ‘escaped beast’ and ‘kangaroo on the loose’. We’d just like to take a minute to clarify she’s a small, friendly, grass-eating wallaby. Not a kangaroo and not a dangerous beast either.

“As we have explained previously, in some parts of the UK wallabies roam wild, country estates often keep them much like sheep and goats to keep the grass down.

“We are confident we can bring Holly home once we pinpoint her; in the meantime, we would appreciate if the only phone calls coming through to us are actual sightings.”